If/Then
by Sara6
Summary: What if the rumored Mi/L kiss during Baby, It's You had actually happened?


If/Then

**If/Then**

  
Summary: I'm gonna quote Christine for a moment: "There was a spoiler (for Baby It's You) a long time ago where during the *shudder* concert scene, Michael grabs Liz and kisses her to shield her presence from an enemy. Although I love the moments we got, I'm sorry that we didn't get this one." Well I thought, hey, someone should write that! And then I thought, dude, _I_ should write that! And now here we are.   
Disclaimer: They're not mine, but if they were the show would be on cable, very late at night.  
Distribution: Send feedback and it's yours, just let me know where it's going.  
Feedback: That depends. Do you want me to finish the sequel? (If so, I'm reachable at LizParker285@hotmail.com)  
BGM: "Silence" by Delerium featuring Sarah McLachlan.  
Dedicated to: Christine, for the unintentional plot bunny and for general adorableness.  
Thanks to: Sean and Leta for the betas, y'all are fab. 

"Electricity  
Eye to eye  
Hey, don't I know you -  
I can't speak..."  
What Would Happen   
*Meredith Brooks* 

It's May 8th, 2001. I'm Liz Parker, and, well... 

Michael kissed me yesterday. 

Wow. 

It looks strange even as I write it. I say it aloud, and my mind still does not want to process the words. 

Michael. Kissed. Me. Yesterday. 

Wow. 

I admit, I've thought about it before. It's Michael, you know? He has that whole tall, dark, handsome bad boy thing going on, and speaking as the typical small-town girl straight A student, that's more than a little intriguing. We're practically two walking stereotypes, I'm surprised no one else has ever mentioned it. Seriously though, I never thought anything would actually happen between us. 

Not that it did. 

Really. 

It meant nothing. 

It was just a kiss. 

...which is kind of like saying that Hurricane Andrew was just a little storm. Who am I kidding? That was one of the best kisses I've ever had. 

Wow. 

Did I just write that? 

Wow. 

Okay. Time for a little backstory... 

*** 

Basically, Maria and I headed up Las Cruces to find out more about the Alex situation. We were searching through his dorm room when campus security caught us and hauled out the handcuffs. So we ran. Which now that I think about it was probably not the smartest thing to do, but two incidences of getting caught breaking and entering within two weeks just didn't sound like fun. 

During our escape, Maria and I managed to get separated, with me ending up at this incredibly undercrowded Nelly Furtado concert in front of the school. 

He scared the hell out of me, he really did. There I was on the run from the law, and he stalked silently up behind me and grabbed my shoulder. I nearly jumped out of my skin, and was ready to flee when he spoke. 

"Liz." Said, of course, in that patented low, urgent tone of voice he has. "What's going on? Are you okay? Where's Maria?" 

Too startled to question his sudden appearance, I told him what had happened. 

"Great," he muttered as I finished. 

"Look, Michael-" I started. 

"You know they're looking for you, right?" he cut in. 

"What?" 

"On my way here, I heard one of the campus cops on his CB getting a description of a suspected burglar headed in this direction. Short, brunette, wearing a flowered jacket. Sound familiar?" 

I glanced around nervously. "You're kidding." 

"Am I ever kidding, Liz? Here," he took off his jacket. "Put this on." I reached for it, then his eyes widened as he looked at something behind me. "Damn it," he swore. "There's a security guard coming this way." 

"What?" I asked, moving to turn. 

"Let's go," Michael demanded. "Here." He shoved the jacket at me. "Come on, hurry." 

I pulled the jacket on as he led me out of the crowd. We strode towards the main campus, doing our best to be inconspicuous. "Is he following us?" I murmured. 

"I think so," he whispered back. "We have to get out of here." 

"Yeah," I replied, then gasped slightly as he pulled me into a narrow space between two buildings. I was about to ask him what he was doing when I heard the voice. 

"Potential suspect headed this way," the security guard spoke into his CB, receiving a staticky "right" in response. 

"Do something," I whispered intensely to Michael, feeling dangerously aware of every inch of space between us in the tight enclosure. 

"Fine," he replied. 

Three seconds later, his lips were on mine, full, hot, and softer than I ever imagined. Unconsciously I kissed him back, as he pushed me, not _too_ roughly, against the brick wall. My hands slid up to his shoulders, briefly grasping his collar before tangling in his hair. The distant sound of footsteps registered somewhere in the back of my mind, encouraging me only to kiss him harder, gasping as his lips parted against mine and his tongue tickled at the corner of my mouth. I pressed myself bodily against him and sighed as he wrapped his arms around my waist and began placing burning hot kisses down my neck. 

"No luck, just a couple of students making out," I heard the guard say as Michael sucked on my collarbone. "I'll keep looking." 

"Mi-Michael," I gasped, not sure if I wanted to tell him the danger was over or that he should continue what he was doing. 

"Mm," he murmured, kissing me again. "Liz." Then he slowly, slowly pulled away and looked at me, disheveled and with lips even more swollen and kissable than before. "Liz," he said again, as if realizing who I was and what we had just been doing. 

"Hi," I said weakly. 

He stared at me for a few more moments as I tried to process exactly what I was feeling. Then he closed his eyes. "That was just to make sure the guards didn't see you," he said, sounding unsure of himself. 

"Of course," I murmured, barely resisting the urge to lick my lips. I could almost still feel his hands clutching my waist, and at that thought I shivered involuntarily, missing the warmth of his hands against my skin. The few inches of space separating us felt nonexistent as I watched his chest rise and fall with his still-heavy breathing. "We should find Maria," I whispered reluctantly, unable to look him in the eye and so concentrating my gaze on his neck. A sudden thought occurred to me. "Uh, Michael..." 

"What?" he muttered. 

I cautiously rubbed my fingers over my throat. "You didn't, uh, give me a hickey or anything, did you?" 

He looked at me for a second. "Oh." Hesitantly, he placed his hands over mine, removing them from my neck, then swept my hair back and examined the area. I took in a shaky breath as his fingertips caressed my skin, finally settling on my collarbone. "Yeah, it looks like I did. I don't know if I can..." he trailed off. "Hold still." Slowly, he rubbed his fingers over the spot, caressing it in a circular motion. I felt the ridiculous urge to purr. 

He stopped all too soon. "Is it gone?" I asked. 

"No, it's still there...I just covered it up, sort of. Changed the pigmentation of the skin so it blends in." He stared at the ground. "We should get out of here." 

"Yeah," I replied. 

We looked at each for a few seconds. "Yeah," he repeated. 

"Okay," I said dumbly, then blinked and moved out of the space, pressing myself against the wall in order to avoid any physical contact. I really didn't need the temptation of his skin against mine again, never mind the offending layers of cloth. His jacket still hung loosely on me, reminding me of him removing it, which led to other, more significantly lustful thoughts. 

We walked silently side-by-side back to the concert. 

*** 

We found Maria. She had been hiding in the Library. Together, we discovered more about Alex and I'll write more about that when my mind isn't so preoccupied with a certain extraterrestrial. This morning we ended up at some deserted house where Michael saved me from an exploding...thing, then proceeded to stare at me in such a way that I felt sure Maria would figure out exactly what was going on. Since that moment, he and I have avoided even the slightest eye contact. 

I can't believe I've written this much about a kiss. Okay, technically there was some groping and oh yeah, a hickey, but still. It was _Michael_, and I don't have any business kissing him. It was just to keep the guard from seeing me. That's all it was. Really. 

Damn it. I swear I can still feel his lips on mine, whispering over my neck and pressed against my collarbone. I stood in front of the mirror for twenty minutes looking for any evidence of the bruise, but there was none. It's really starting to freak me out, especially since I can feel it burn slightly (in a good way, if that makes any sense) every few minutes. I'm really trying not to be paranoid about this, but it's difficult, given my history with alien love bites. 

Okay. So there it is. Michael and I kissed yesterday. I have an invisible hickey that's sending periodic shock waves through my nervous system and down to regions I'm too polite to discuss. I'm confused, emotionally vulnerable, and feeling my loyalty to Maria declining by the second. 

Yeah, that's right. 

Michael and I kissed yesterday. 

I want it to happen again. 

Damn it. 

The End  
5-13-2001 

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